I’ve spent the past three days in Louisiana taking part in events organized by local community leaders to highlight the devastating impacts of the climate crisis — from Hurricane Katrina to the region dominated by the petrochemical industry known as Cancer Alley.
I was deeply moved by the stories from Sharon Lavigne, @risestjames and the many people from across the River Parishes who have seen the lives of their sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters cut short by the toxic chemicals in the air they breathe, water they drink, and food they eat.
I had the opportunity to join my daughter Karenna as she led a dialogue for COP30’s Global Ethical Stocktake with those who work at the intersection of faith, environmental justice, and climate advocacy. It was made all the more powerful by our surroundings at the TEP Center with civil rights pioneer, Dr. Leona Tate.
Today, I was honored to participate in the community commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in the lower Ninth Ward.
During Katrina, the levees failed. But so did the policies that have perpetuated environmental injustice and placed this community on the frontlines of the climate crisis. And so did the programs that were supposed to support the survivors of this disaster.
We cannot continue to fail the people of Louisiana by using the sky as if it were an open sewer. We need to move swiftly to phase out the fossil fuels that are killing people with pollution in Cancer Alley and fueling stronger and more frequent extreme weather. When the rain comes, when the storms hit, when the drought dries up the water, when the ice melts and the sea level rises, remember these warnings came. Listen to the scientists who are warning us. Listen to the people of Cancer Alley, of the Lower Ninth Ward, and of all of the frontline communities who are demanding action.
Thank you to Sharon and the entire RISE St. James team for hosting me and @climatereality in St. James and @beyondpetrochemicals @brepairers @hiphopcaucus @taprootearth for your ongoing work to lift up the voices of those who live in Cancer Alley. And thank you @revyearwood for inviting me to join your #Katrina20 remembrance.
A surge of innovation is redefining sustainable construction, with projects across the UK demonstrating how environmental sustainability in construction can merge with design excellence and performance resilience. At the forefront is the shortlisted “upcycled skyscraper”, a striking case of circular economy in construction where existing structures are adapted rather than demolished. The project exemplifies low carbon design by reusing steel and concrete frames to reduce embodied carbon in materials and limit the carbon footprint of construction. Through a robust whole life carbon assessment, the scheme proves that sustainable building design can embody elegance and cost-efficiency while advancing the goal of net zero whole life carbon in urban regeneration.
The Medworth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power facility in Wisbech represents a parallel movement toward decarbonising the built environment. By transforming residual waste into usable energy, the £500 million investment underscores how sustainable building practices contribute to green infrastructure and long-term resource efficiency in construction. Designed to power more than 80,000 homes with low-carbon electricity, the facility highlights how lifecycle assessment and low carbon construction materials factor into environmental product declarations (EPDs) and end-of-life reuse in construction plans. It demonstrates that whole life carbon reduction can be achieved when energy generation is woven into the broader framework of sustainable urban development.
Heritage buildings are equally central to this transition. G F Tomlinson’s retrofit of Barnsley College’s University Centre into the South Yorkshire Institute of Technology embodies life cycle thinking in construction and shows how low-impact construction methods can rejuvenate older assets. The project integrates renewable building materials and green building products while preserving the structure’s Art Deco façade. It stands as an archetype of eco-friendly construction and sustainable material specification, proving that a low carbon building can bridge history and high performance without undermining architectural integrity.
Industry analysis reveals that the private sector is expanding its commitment to net zero carbon buildings, embedding BREEAM and emerging frameworks like BREEAM v7 into procurement and reporting systems. Corporations are prioritising life cycle cost evaluations and circular construction strategies to ensure that every design stage addresses embodied carbon and operational efficiency. In shifting toward carbon neutral construction, these firms are retooling supply chains and adopting low embodied carbon materials tailored to each project’s environmental impact of construction metrics. The movement marks a clear pivot from voluntary green construction efforts toward measurable and verifiable sustainability outcomes.
Prince William’s advocacy for scalable sustainable design through initiatives such as the Earthshot Prize captures a global mood: carbon footprint reduction must be inherent to every phase of eco-design for buildings, from concept development to building lifecycle performance analysis. The momentum now depends on how effectively policymakers and developers align lifecycle assessment methodologies with on-site practice. With the integration of circular economy strategies and net zero carbon benchmarks, sustainable construction is emerging not as an alternative niche but as the foundation of future-ready, low carbon, energy-efficient buildings. The shift signals a systemic commitment to transforming the environmental sustainability of construction into a central metric of progress, setting a new global standard for how we build, adapt and sustain the built environment.
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